Test: what is the best sporty winter tire 225/40R18?

In the cold season, when the roads are sometimes covered with snow and ice and temperatures drop, sports car enthusiasts face an important decision: do they continue to drive on summer tires or is the switch to winter tires inevitable to maintain maximum control? This question, which often leads to heated debates among car enthusiasts, is about more than just personal preference. It is also about general safety on our roads, in addition to personal safety. In all our winter and all-season tire tests, we therefore always test a summer tire for comparison and subject it to all components.

Drifting with real winter tires

Of course, cars with summer tires drive sharper, more dynamically and faster through the bends, but only as long as temperatures are in double figures. That is the downside of the enormous grip of modern sports tires: at temperatures just above freezing, the rubber compounds become so hard that they hardly build up any grip. Cars with these tires are undriveable on snow and ice. Winter tires, on the other hand, are designed for grip at low temperatures. On stuck snow it is fun to drift through the bends with real winter tires. Admittedly, such conditions are extremely rare in our country, but there are plenty of fellow countrymen who travel to winter areas once (or several times) a year for a winter sports holiday.

Test parts on snow

• Braking: As far as braking is concerned, Michelin, which performs well in winter conditions, manages to leave the other participants behind. The SW608 Snowmaster from Goodride, on the other hand, does not live up to its name. With this rubber, the Toyota slides hopelessly straight, practically without braking.
• Driving: The cheap Austone tires guarantee pure driving pleasure on the handling trail thanks to sensational lateral grip. On snowy slopes, only the sharply steering Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 can keep up.
• Slalom: Whether it’s on spike tires, the Yaris on Austone’s Skadi’s SP-901 makes its way between the row of pylons with such determination. This gives him a clear lead. The Falken and Goodride tires, on the other hand, have insufficient lateral grip; This means you won’t experience much driving pleasure under winter conditions.
• Traction: Michelin also leads in the traction measurement, closely followed by the winter specialists of the Pirelli and Goodyear brands. The Goodride tire also performs poorly on this test section.

Test parts on wet roads

• Aquaplaning: Hankook’s Winter i*cept evo3 offers the greatest safety reserves in the event of aquaplaning. Asymmetric profiles (Austone and Falken) are at a disadvantage when it comes to aquaplaning and lose contact with the road much sooner.
• Cornering aquaplaning: Even in corners, the directional V-profiles offer better protection against the formation of a layer of water under the tread. The Austone also receives a red card for its poor performance on this test section.
• Brakes: As long as temperatures are in double figures, the summer tire can keep up well. Compared to the top candidates, the braking distance of the low-budget tire is up to fourteen meters longer, which can be dangerous when approaching a traffic jam.
• Roundabout: On the round circuit, the summer tire with its good lateral grip can hold its own at the top. The dynamic tires from Goodyear, Bridgestone and Vredestein are just behind. The Austone, on the other hand, can hardly build up any grip.
• Driving behavior: On wet roads, the GR Yaris is ultra-fast on Goodyear’s new UltraGrip Performance 3. This tire takes an advantage over the rest. The cheap Austone tire, on the other hand, is seriously disappointing and does not perform at all on wet surfaces.

Test parts on dry road surface

• Driving behavior: In Track and Sport modes, the GR Yaris requires a stable grip on the rear axle. This works best with tires from Bridgestone, Michelin and Falken. The little powerhouse responds to Austone’s tires with uncontrollable oversteer.
• Brakes: Braking performance is the only serious weak point of many winter tires. The best braking tires from Falken and Kumho lose just less than a vehicle length, while the Bridgestone loses eight meters of safety reserve.
• Noise (when driving past): Winter tires generally do not roll noisier than summer tires on the asphalt. Hankook’s i*cept evo³ produces the most noise on the outside, but little of this is noticeable in the interior.
• Rolling resistance: Low rolling resistance can help reduce fuel consumption. Compared to Vredestein’s tires, Continental’s tires offer a theoretical savings potential of around four percent, which reduces the Toyota’s consumption by around 0.4 liters per 100 km.

Top-5 test winter tire 225/40R18

These five tires performed best during the 225/40R18 winter tire test:

1. Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3
2. Michelin Pilot Alpin 5
3. Continental WinterContact TS870P
4. Hankook Winter i*cept evo3
5. Bridgestone Blizzak LM005

Extensive results and graphs

All results are also shown in graphs, as well as an overview of all tires and their performance. We cannot show this on the web page, but you will find it in the PDF that you can download on this page.

Price comparator

With the AutoWeek Car Tire Price Comparator we offer you a handy tool to find the best offers on tires. The price comparator currently provides an overview of the complete range of sixteen different tire providers. The results are also here all tire tests from the past 9 years.